So What If the Beautiful Campus Belle Loves Money? (10)
The smile vanished completely from Hua Jinchen's face. His pupils contracted as he stared at her like a beast that had locked onto its prey.
"How did you find out?"
Shi Zheng acted as though she hadn't noticed the change in him. She even leaned forward slightly, until their breaths almost mingled.
She raised her hand, but her fingertips didn't touch him. She merely pointed at his chest from a short distance away.
"I like you, so I've been watching you all along, Hua Jinchen."
"You like me? Heh, because I'm another rich guy you've set your sights on."
Hua Jinchen sneered. He wasn't taken in by Shi Zheng's sweet talk.
He suddenly raised his hand and seized her wrist in a powerful grip.
"Shi Zheng, who gave you the nerve to go digging into my secrets? Hmm?"
Shi Zheng didn't pull away. Instead, she went along with him, gently placing her other hand over the back of the hand holding her wrist.
Her fingertips were slightly cool, a stark contrast to the heat of his skin.
"The nerve? Why, you gave it to me, Young Master Hua."
Shi Zheng met his oppressive gaze. "If you hate me, why don't you let go of my hand?"
"Actually, you're interested in me too, aren't you, Hua Jinchen?"
"..."
Hua Jinchen's breathing grew noticeably heavier for a moment.
His knuckles turned slightly white from the force of his grip on her wrist, a storm gathering in his eyes.
To enter his circle and gain protection, to use him to solve her troubles.
She was seducing him.
In such a clumsy way.
But strangely, Hua Jinchen felt no anger at her offense.
Being approached with such an ulterior motive was like tasting a dessert with an intricate preparation: even knowing it might contain something that shouldn't have been added, he was still drawn to its layers of texture and the faint, elusive scent of danger.
Shi Zheng was right about one thing: he was indeed interested in her.
After a long moment, Hua Jinchen stood up. "Shi Zheng, do you know what price you'll pay for lying to me?"
He looked down at her, his tall figure casting her entirely in shadow.
Shi Zheng could clearly see her tiny reflection in his pupils.
With a sincere expression, she said, "Hua Jinchen, I haven't lied to you. I really do like you. You're handsome, you have the manners of a gentleman, and you're very generous to your partner. What reason would I have not to like you?"
"Besides, I'm so beautiful. You're really getting a great deal by dating me."
No man could dislike being praised by a beautiful woman.
Hua Jinchen was no exception.
"If you want the position of my girlfriend, fine."
Hua Jinchen roughly lifted Shi Zheng's chin with his fingertips, forcing her to look up and meet his eyes.
The pad of his finger was warm and lightly callused as it brushed almost imperceptibly over her lower lip.
He said, "Then you only need to remember one thing... be obedient. That's what will let you stay by my side for a long time."
"Did you hear me?"
System: [Host, Hua Jinchen's affection has increased! Hua Jinchen's current affection: 25.]
Shi Zheng: [Only five points...]
Shi Zheng's thick eyelashes fluttered slightly.
When she raised her eyes, a soft light rippled through them, and her fingers gave the hem of Hua Jinchen's jersey a gentle tug.
"Since you're my boyfriend now..."
She drew out her words, her voice sweet and soft. "Then... I want that new Chanel hobo bag, and... oh, so many things."
She chattered on as she began counting on her fingers, her eyes sparkling.
Then she seemed to remember something all of a sudden. "Ah! Right, I don't think we've added each other as friends yet."
She casually took out her phone, opened her QR code, and held it out in front of Hua Jinchen.
Hua Jinchen took in her entire string of reactions.
He took out his phone, and the notification sound confirming they'd been added as friends rang out.
Just as he was about to put his phone away, his gaze happened to sweep over Shi Zheng's phone screen, which was still unlocked.
The saved names of several pinned contacts were particularly intimate.
Hua Jinchen's eyebrow twitched.
Out of the corner of her eye, Shi Zheng caught the brief narrowing of his gaze.
Even though that careless smile still lingered on his face, even though he probably only saw her as a fling for now.
The deeply ingrained male sense of territory and possessiveness still stirred the slightest ripple in the depths of his eyes.
For a scion of power and privilege like him, anything that belonged to him, even if he didn't like it, could never be allowed to give anyone else the slightest chance to lay a finger on it.
Shi Zheng was all too familiar with that mindset, and she was waiting for it to flare up.
Sure enough.
Hua Jinchen teased her with feigned nonchalance. "Quite a well-stocked friends list. Looks like my girlfriend has a busy social life."
There wasn't the slightest hint of panic at being found out on Shi Zheng's face. Instead, a look of realization appeared.
"Oh, those..." She frowned slightly, her tone tinged with distaste. "I added them back when I didn't know any better. I barely even spoke to some of them."
As she spoke, she began operating her phone without hesitation. "They just take up space, and looking at them annoys me."
Right in front of Hua Jinchen, Shi Zheng briskly deleted those contacts one by one.
On the one hand, she was showing Hua Jinchen that she was obedient.
On the other, wasn't she also using the legitimate status of having a "boyfriend" to naturally clear away these troubles that might introduce complications?
Hua Jinchen's appearance had given her an excellent excuse to openly cut ties with the past.
Once she was done, Shi Zheng waved her phone in front of Hua Jinchen and tilted her face up, a hint of playful expectation of praise in her eyes. "Look, it's much cleaner now, isn't it? You're the only one left, boyfriend."
Her voice was soft and sweet, and she enunciated "you're the only one left" with particular clarity, creating the illusion of wholehearted dependence.